Fatherly Fathoms
by UnspokenDreams
Summary: Having fallen ill Rin calls out for her father in her fevered dreams. Sesshoumaru, unsure of what to do, merely complies with the request and stays by her side. A short, fluffy oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sesshoumaru or Rin. They both strictly belong to Rumiko Takahashi-sensei.

**Warning(s): **Nothing too severe at all. However, you just might drown in pure fluffiness. X3 Also a minor spoiler-ish quote at the end!

**Summary: **Having fallen ill Rin calls out for her father in her fevered dreams. Sesshoumaru, unsure of what to do, merely complies with the request and stays by her side. A short, fluffy one-shot.

"**Fatherly Fathoms"**

_Written by: UnspokenDreams_

In all honesty he hadn't the faintest clue on how the child had fallen so ill in such a short period of time. It was remarkable, and yet expected from a human. Her immune system was as strong as his tolerance for half demons, weak. He assumed it was, perhaps, the fact that the weather had recently begun to fluctuate allowing the air to dip from a warm afternoon to a cool evening. It had begun with nothing more then a small cough, which he foolishly ignored, and had only evolved from that point. It didn't aid the matter that human health had not been in his department of knowledge. Truthfully, the demon lord could have cared less about it. However, the fact of the matter was that the human he allowed to travel with him was in poor health, and he'd have to find some way to see the affair over.

"Jaken," He began firmly to the frog demon who made haste in addressing his master's call.

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"The girl...how is she?" The demon inquired; his tone calm and coated with the faintest traces of apprehension.

Jaken allowed his tri-fingered hand to grasp at his staff tightly, his nails digging into the smooth, ancient wood. "Her condition has neither changed, nor let up. She refuses to eat as well," He reported from having observed Rin's progress that early evening.

Saying nothing to acknowledge he'd processed the information Sesshoumaru swiftly strode forward to view Rin's condition for his own eyes. As he expected the girl remained in the same location he'd left her. She lay asleep on her side amongst a collected pile of leaves, her hands resting by her mouth in order to suppress the arbitrary, violent coughing fits she'd been recently plagued with. Her bangs clung to her forehead in perspiration of a fever—the fever she had tried desperately to ward off. Sesshoumaru would have turned and left the girl to rest had not the weak sound of her voice caught his attention. Raising an eyebrow the lord of the western lands bent at the knees to observe and perhaps decipher what she was saying.

"…ther…Father…"

The silver-haired demon was slightly taken back by her words. So in fact that he hadn't noticed Rin clutch at his draped sleeve, the valuable silk creased and bunched in her vice-like grip. What was this girl speaking of? Hadn't her father, and entire family for that matter, perished in the village she'd previously lived in? Certainly the child's fever was higher then he assumed.

"Father…please stay," She continued to speak in the smallest of whispers, her eyes wincing beneath the closed lids.

Sesshoumaru often wondered why when it came to Rin all of his defenses, immoral behavior, and demonic attitude diminished a great amount. It wasn't as if he felt any sense of compassion towards the child—heaven forbid—he merely felt it his responsibility to uphold her safety. It was her after all who had approached him and taken care of him in his weakest of states when she clearly knew that he was capable of killing her with a swift movement of his claw. Nevertheless, Sesshoumaru found himself seated by Rin's side, the claws of his only hand running through her delicate strands of wavy, sun-kissed hair. The act seemed to soothe her for the demon found his index finger tightly encased within her small hand, the other still wrapped around his sleeve. Eyes of amber narrowed upon monitoring. Had her hands always been so small and brittle?

His contemplations were cut short as Rin's body convulsed in coughing fit, which he observed and absorbed. As a demon he rarely fell under any type of ailment. Just the term 'sickness' felt strange within the realm of his mind—like a foreign delicacy that had suddenly become agreeable to his taste buds. Still, to see Rin in this state angered him if anything. He was not angry at Rin, but himself. The whole incident could have been avoided had not he taken into consideration the meteorological patterns. The skin of her hand was cold, which led him to presume her entire body felt the same.

_Be grateful, human. This Sesshoumaru would not do such a thing with any other._

And having thought his previous thinking the silver-haired being took the small child within his arm, cradling her against him. He found it somewhat amusing how her body was just a bit longer then the length of his arm. The extraordinary act was not ignored by Jaken, who merely gaped, though said nothing. Only a fool would question his master's motives.

Rin's scent brushed against Sesshoumaru's senses as he held her causing the demon to undergo a series of possibilities. Perhaps she smelled of the wildflowers she often frolicked in, or possibly of the sweet berries she loved to eat. Either way her aroma was pleasing and went just fine by him.

"Father…" The words left her lips in a small mumble as she readjusted within his arms, her hands having released their previous grasps only to take hold of his rather furry trademark.

"Sleep," He spoke gently nonetheless pitched his voice loud enough to be heard. No, he wasn't her father, yet if it would calm and warm her he'd hold her just the same. It was then and only then Sesshoumaru realized a small smile had upturned his lips.

"_All this fuss over one human girl…He's become like his father in the strangest of ways."_

**-The End-**

**Author's Note: **It's been a while since I've written anything Inuyasha-related, haha. Personally I love the SesshoumaruxRin pairing (in the father/daughter sense of course!). I was somewhat inspired to write this after having read chapter 470, and 471. I'm not going to spoil anything, but those two chapters are possibly the sweetest chapters I've read. In any case I've begun to write a sequel to my previous fan fiction _Hold Me Closer_ for all of you that have read it :3 Anyway, enough babbling from me! –smacks herself- Reviews are loved! –G-chan.


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